Friday, June 26, 2009

I had to take a few pictures of Brooks today because I think he looks so adorable (I think this every day, but today is exceptional! :)) Bryant and I bought the Ferrari Pumas in Italy on our honeymoon for Tait, and I am so glad they were passed down to us!

Brooks is getting ready for nappy time in the back room. He always busts out his best smile when I am leaving the room, which melts my heart, so I usually hang out for a few minutes and get a few more grins out of him.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Last night we were all exhausted, so after dinner we laid out on the couch to watch some boob tube. I looked over to see my guys cuddling, both fast asleep, and was reminded just how blessed I am to have two such amazing men in my life. I can't wait for the adventures ahead with our little guy!

This morning I had to run a bunch of errands for Gary, my boss, so I stuck Brooks in the Bjorn and went on my way. We walked about a block from Wells Fargo to Victoria's Coffee Shop (I needed a little kick start). On our way, I saw the most adorable family playing in the town fountain. The two boys were about age 4 and 2 and mom was pregnant with boy #3 (I had to ask). Both the mom, dad and grandma were chasing the boys and taking pictures of them playing in the fountain. I had a major flash forward, and couldn't help but smile. Someday, Bryant and I will be chasing our munchkins around and playing with them in the fountain. I am loving today, but am also so excited for the future, too, no matter how many kiddos the Lord blesses us with or what gender they are, it is going to be such an amazing ride.

On a side note, I realize that in most of the pictures I have of Brooks on the blog he is sleeping, but that is what he does 85% of the time these days!

Monday, June 22, 2009

I was finally able to capture a video of Brooks smiling and laughing at me today (which he does often:)). While we were driving to work today I was doing a little dance because I was excited about something, and Bryant looked over at me and reminded me that I am going to be a crazy mom, and will probably embarrass my children...often. Of course he was joking with me, but even if it is somewhat true, at least there will be a lot of laughter in our house! :)

Friday night we met up with the Everett's and went to dinner at L'Hostaria, which is a great Italian restaurant in Aspen. It was a perfect summer evening, and despite it being Food and Wine, and having no reservation, we were able to eat outside on the patio. The two boys (Tait and Brooks), were on their best behavior for the entire meal. Afterward, we strolled around town and watched the aftermath of the first day of Food and Wine. I ran into a group of my old colleagues from Gallo, and it was great to see them and catch up for a few minutes.

Saturday, Trevor and Bryant rode up to Ashcroft while Amy Jo and I walked around the farmers market and again, observed the aftermath of the first grand tasting on Saturday. It is always interesting to watch thousands of adults on their not so best behavior wondering through our tiny little town. We all met up when the guys finished their ride and enjoyed a Mexican lunch at Cantina. After a three hour nap for me at the baby, we met up with Trev and Amy again and had a great dinner on their back deck, which has an incredible view of Mt. Sopris and the surrounding mountains.

Sunday was Bryant's day, so the entire day, he got to choose to do whatever he wanted. We woke up around 9:30, and stayed in our pjs until about 11:00. Then we decided to go on a family bike ride to Basalt (about 25 miles round trip) and get some lunch. The gals from my office went in together and got us the Mercedes of the chariot line, and we finally got it all set up. It was perfect. I ordered an infant sling so Brooks could us the trailer sooner than a year old. He was so comfy in his little seat and didn't make a peep the entire ride! I would ride along side them to check on him and he was either asleep or wide awake and just taking in the scenery. It was adorable!

That evening we took the baby to the Snowmass Rec Center and he went on his first swim. It was great! He loved it! I swear we could do anything to Brooks and he would be along for the ride. He was so content to let his daddy swim him around the pool, just looking around and enjoying the float!

When we got home, I made Bryant stuffed chicken with shitake mushrooms, leeks, garlic, and Gorgonzola. I made the recipe up in my head and had never made stuffed chicken before, but it was actually really yummy!

Bryant said it was the perfect father's day, which made me very proud! :)

Friday, June 19, 2009

Today little Brooks had his two month check up. Everything checked out perfectly. He is 80% for head, height, weight and length, which is great! He is also very strong for his age, too. At the end of the check up with Dr. Nelson, Brooks ate while we waited for the nurses to come in and give him his vaccinations. We decided to only do 3 of the 6 vaccinations they recommend for the 2 month appointment.

The first one they administered was an oral shot for pertussis (whooping cough, which flies through Aspen every year), after they got half of the dose into this mouth, he projectile vomited all over the nurse. Oops. They said he only has to swallow half of the dose for it to be effective, so we are still ok. It was pretty funny to watch though. We also did shots for baby meningitis and the rotavirus (which is similar to the flu).

Bryant and I were really torn over whether or not to vaccinate Brooks, as many parents are, but we also feel that we live in a community where people frequently bring in diseases and germs from all over the globe. So, after an open and long discussion with our ped, Dr. Nelson, we decided to only do the essential vaccinations at each appointment, and as long as he is pretty well caught up by the start of kindergarten, we are ok. We will definitely be waiting on the MMR as long as possible as we have heard first hand accounts of kiddos who have had effects after being vaccinated.

Of course when the nurses stuck our boy with the shots (simultaneously on both legs), he wailed louder than I have ever heard him before...and I quickly picked him up and balled too. It breaks my heart to have a sad little boy, but at the same time I am so happy that I can swoop him up and save the day. He cried for about five minutes just to let us know he was mad, and then he was back to his happy little self.

I just gave him a 1/2 dose of Tylenol and he is sleeping away next to my desk.

Town is crazy this weekend with both Food and Wine and Jazz Aspen in town. I love the energy from all of the people roaming the streets! Also, the farmer's markets start this weekend in both Aspen and Basalt, and I am so excited for fresh produce and yummy treats!

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Last night was amazing...truly amazing. My dear friend and sister-in-law, Amy Jo offered to come and stay the night with our little man while we...SLEPT! The Everett's (minus the three girls who are visiting family in Washington) came over and we enjoyed dinner on the back deck. Trev and Tait left around 10:00, and my head was on the pillow (with the aid of 1 Tylonal PM) by 10:30. I was out like a light until 5:30 when Amy Jo brought our guy upstairs for his breakfast. He was only up one time before that at 2:00am when she gave him a bottle and he went right back to sleep. I was absolutely thrilled this morning to wake up with 7 straight hours under my belt!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Last night was a doozy. For some reason Brooks tossed and turned in the bassy all night long all the while snorting on the mucus monster and trying to catch his breath every several minutes. I couldn't fall asleep until about 12:30, and I think LB was up every hour choking on snot (yummy, huh?). This is the first bought of exhaustion I have had to bring to work with me. I am working on about 2 hours of broken up sleep, and that might be pushing it. The good news is, I was on time to work this morning, and my boss was here to witness it, and me with no make up and lack of sleep written all over my face and attitude.

I am really trying to put on a happy face, but I think the shadows are consuming the sunshine right now...So, in an effort to make myself see the brighter side of my situation, here is a list of the things I am thankful for today:

My handsome, supportive husbandMy healthy, happy, wonderful sonThe rest of my wonderful supportive family membersThe fact that I have a job to go to every morningThe fact that they let me bring my baby to the office every dayA house over our head with an incredible view, and great neighborsMy health and ability to be physically active and healed from pregnancy and deliveryThe 2 pair of jeans I fit in to so farThe freedom to love and worship the Lord Jesus Christ freely and openly

There are so many more, but I am too tired to type them out. :)

Praying for more sleep, continued health, and quick recovery.

Becca & Brooks (who is sound asleep in the back room with his mouth hanging wide open...I am so jealous!)

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Yesterday, I finally mustered up the energy, courage and motivation to get back into hot yoga. If you have never taken a class, it is 90 minutes of intense postures in a room that is heated to at least 104 degrees and at 40% humidity (you might as well be on the sand in Myrtle Beach doing yoga at 2:00pm!). The studio is across the alley from my office, so Bryant picked up the baby at 5:15, and I darted to my 5:30 class. I made it in plenty of time to catch up with the owner and some of the teachers I haven't seen in over a year (I was really into going last spring before I got pregnant). The huge benefit to this type of yoga is not only the gain in flexibility but the loss of calories. At my weight, I am burning over 1100 calories in one 90 minute session...bye bye baby belly! :) I am hoping to go at least 3x/week to help expedite the weight loss because it is no fun not fitting into any of my cute summer clothes...blah.

But, Bikram was not the highlight of my evening. This was the first time Bryant has been alone with the baby for over an hour...and they both did awesome! Brooks was awake the entire time I was gone, he took a full bottle of stored milk for the first time (way to go daddio!), and they were both in relatively good spirits, but exhausted when I got home. Fewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! What a relief and blessing!

Work is still going as well as it can. It does seem like my days consist only of work and chores at this point, and I don't mention that for a pitty party, but simply because our life has changed so drastically since Brooks joined us. We now wake up an hour earlier (on good mornings), rush around and leave the house typically ten minutes late, no matter how well I prepare the night before. I work all day while feeding and taking care of our boy and my boss (well not feeding the boss, but taking care of him, yes). Some evenings we go straight to the gym, others we head home, but either way, it is home around 6:00 or 7:30pm depending on the workout schedule, make dinner, clean up (if I am lucky), bath, feed, change the baby, and try to hit the pillow by 10:30. All that to wake up 2.5 hours later to feed again and on and on...Motherhood is the absolute greatest joy, but most exhausting job imaginable.

We continue to pray for more milestones for our little guy. He is such an amazing boy. Every morning when he wakes up (typically in bed with us, as that is where he lands after his 5:30am feeding), he smiles and coos and both of us while kicking and waving his arms in excitement because he has an audience...how on earth can a person wake up crabby when that is the alarm clock!? He is one of the happiest, most laid back babies I have ever been around, and we feel so blessed that God hand picked him to be ours. He continuously surprises us by how much he has learned and grown over the past two months...that's right...he will be 2 months old on June 21st. Wow!

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers for our ever changing family. We miss you all and can't wait to see you soon. Aspen is amazing in the summer, and summer is finally here. The hills are so green and the sun is high in the sky. It is a wonderful place to visit (hint hint) :)...

Monday, June 15, 2009

The mucus monster has returned and because of it, we don't get those nice six hour stretches of night sleep we were blessed with last week, although, Brooks was only up 2x between 10:30pm-6:00am last night. He finally fell asleep today, but it was much later than usual. So, I am praying for a long stretch tonight and that the sniffles go far far away from here. I am inclined to think this is the cold from last week lingering just a little longer because he is stuffy during the day too, and he wasn't before.

We have our two month well check on Friday and I am excited to see how much he weighs and how his development is coming along so far.

I am still working on shredding the baby weight, so tonight I am going to take a Bikrams (hot) yoga class while Bryant plays with the little guy. I was really into hot yoga last spring/summer before I got pregnant. It is 1.5 hours of sweat and hard work, but you burn nearly 1000 calories! Good for the heart and the hips! Hopefully I will soon be able to get back into my regular old summer clothes.

Finally! I had the camera with me and the nursery was pretty put together at the same time! Right now, we use this rooms for the most part to change him and rock him in the glider. Brooks is starting to use the crib more and more for daytime/evening naps, which is so fun! It makes him seem like such a big boy.

His room is lightly themed "where the wild things are." One of my cousins, Katie painted the quote on the wall for us when she was down last fall, and another cousin and dear friend, Kelly, made the Wild Things letters, clock, coat hanger and frames! I made the story frames during the nesting phase of my pregnancy.

Friday, June 12, 2009

The last seven weeks have been such a whirlwind since the baby arrived, when I reflect back, it seems like he was born only last week. We have had company off and on since his arrival, I am now on my second week back to work, and Bryant has some new exciting projects to focus on over the next several weeks. We are really starting to wrap our arms around more of a schedule (which I know will change from day to day depending on Brooks), and can get all three of us out the door, showered, changed and fed in about 1.5 hours (that is down from at least 3.5 when I first came home from the hospital)!

After a literally sleepless night with Brooks on Sunday, I called the doctor to try to figure out some sort of last ditch solution to reduce the amount of mucus he had every night as it seemed to be getting worse, not any better. She suggested I try to eliminate dairy from my diet for a week and see if it helps. Well, to our delight, it only took 1 night to see the results. From the first night of no dairy until now (we are now three nights into it) he has had one stretch of at least 6 hours of sleep! What a huge blessing after the last 6.5 weeks of getting up with him every 2.5 hours to feed, burp, put in drops, snork, and change him (which would take at least 30 minutes each time). We feel so refreshed despite all three of us recovering from a major head cold that hit us hard early this week (see next blog about mommy lessons).

Bryant's mom arrived May 28th and left us yesterday. We had a wonderful time with her and she enjoyed Brooks so much that I don't think his head laid on anything but her arms when he was home with her. I was a little afraid he would get used to the comfy arms of his Nanny so much that he wouldn't want to nap on his own when I am at the office, but today, we had another milestone. I put him down in the pack and play in the studio connected to our office wide awake and turned on my handy video monitor. I watched him wiggle and coo for about 5 minutes. He let out one holler, and fell right to sleep... on his own! What a great baby! I am so proud of him!

We are not sure what to do with ourselves this weekend without any company at the house. :) We truly enjoyed everyone who came to visit over the last seven weeks... my mom, Sarah, Kelly and Bryant's mom... We already miss you!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

On Friday two cases of swine flu were confirmed in Pitkin County, which is the county we live in and it has a mere 15,474 residents. I am not nervous of either Bryant or I catching the flu because I am confident that we can beat it pretty easily, but now that we have a little guy at home, I am much more aware of our risks of getting him sick. We carry hand sanitizer around in all of our cars and the diaper bag so we or anyone who wants to hold the baby can use it before we pick him up. Some might say this does more harm than good, and in most circumstances, I would agree, but having a baby that is already stuffy all night, every night, I can't imagine what it would be like for him to go through the flu.

I segway into a major mommy lesson learned and mistake I made on Saturday. We decided after our HOA meeting to head to Basalt for a free lunch event they were hosting to get people into the downtown core and stimulate the economy. Goal #1 was a huge success. There were thousands of people packed into a 3 block section of Midland Avenue. As Bryant, his mom and I stood in line for our free lunch, I saw a woman with a child on her back in a hiking pack. I looked at the baby and about gagged because she had huge, long drops of thick green snot coming out of her nose and her mom was totally oblivious. So, to help the poor child out, I said gently to her mom, "I just want to let you know your baby has some serious snot coming out of her nose," with the expectation that her mom would take care of it. End of story. Not the case.

The mom, without hesitation, puts a wadded up wipe into my hand and says, "don't worry, it wasn't used on her bum, just to wipe her snot." So, I calmly shoved away my animal like desire to throw the disgusting wipe back and give her a piece of my mind. I then make a swipe at her daughter's nose in a very meager attempt at relieving the child from her mucus misery all the while thinking of my little man in the stroller next to me and the germs I am undoubtedly going to pass along to him. Gross. So, I got rid of the wipe and raised my right hand as if to put it into quarantine while I dug through the diaper bag with my left hand trying desperately to find my hand sanitizer. I finally found it and poured just about the entire bottle on my contaminated hand and went into the nearest restaurant to wash my hands thoroughly. Gross. Gross. Gross. I want to throw up just thinking about that snot... and now both me and my baby have a cough, sneeze and stuffy nose...major mommy lesson learned... don't comment on the condition of another persons baby, even with the best of intentions.

Friday, June 5, 2009

This morning I heard that Lance Armstrong and his girlfriend, Anna had their baby last night, June 4th at Aspen Valley Hospital. He was 7lb 5oz and 20 inches long and they named him Max. I am so glad to know our little beefcake, Brooks (who was also born at AVH and weighed in at 8lb 6oz and was 21in long) could kick his buns (for now!)! He he he! :) Maybe if Lance sticks around, the boys will be classmates???

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Yesterday was Khloe's 6th birthday so she and I went on a date to get pedicures. While we were gone, Amy Jo watched Brooks (my first time away from him!!!), and while she had him she took these photos. I can't believe how big he is! He is getting animated. Smiles, Coos, Laughter. It melts my heart. I can't believe he is already 6 weeks old.

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

So, yesterday was the dreaded day...I had to head back to the office after six wonderful weeks of playing stay at home mommy. I had such a wonderful time doing projects around the house, taking naps to catch up from sleepless nights and most of all, dedicating 100% of my time to my family. But, our reality is for me to work... and it really isn't all that bad. My colleagues and boss are totally supportive of me bringing Brooks to the office and in fact, Gary, my boss bought us an amazing pack n' play and a whole slew of things to put in the apartment connected to our office for me and the baby. We have a video monitor, so naps are really easy. Praise the Lord for an amazing baby. He is so well behaved and has already started to work with our new schedule, and it is only day 2.

As I type this, I am sitting at my desk with Brooks in the Bjorn and working away at the computer. With the exception of extreme fatigue after a meager 3 hours of sleep last night, I am feeling fine about our situation. Hopefully the mucus monster will go away soon, so we can all get a restful nights sleep.

Life has definitely changed as of Monday. I have so much new respect for stay at home and working moms alike. Both jobs are incredibly difficult, although, I think I got a lot more done when I was at home. :)